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Division of Academic and Student Affairs 
Office of Student Conduct

Academic Integrity: Overview

Academic integrity is the cornerstone of education.  The free exchange of ideas depends on the participants’ trust that others’ work is their own and that it was done honestly. Intellectual progress in all disciplines demands the truthfulness of all participants. Plagiarism and cheating are attacks on the very foundation of academic life and cannot be tolerated within universities.

The goal of this page is to provide only a general overview of the University’s policies on academic integrity and some of the common understandings related to those policies. A short summary of examples can be found here. For greater clarification, students, faculty, and staff are strongly encouraged to seek advice from their individual professors, contact our office, and/or read the Code of Student Conduct.

What is Academic Misconduct?

The Code of Student Conduct does not provide a single, broad definition that encompasses all aspects of academic misconduct.  Instead, the Code provides a listing of several behaviors that fall into four basic categories of misconduct:

  • Cheating
  • Falsifying
  • Misuse of Academic Materials
  • Plagiarism
  • Unauthorized Assistance of Collaboration

Generally, academic misconduct can be thought of as any behavior that involves the giving, taking, or presenting of information by a student that unethically or fraudulently aids the student or another in any work that is to be considered in the determination of a grade or the completion of academic requirements or the enhancement of that student’s record or academic career.

Cheating:

Cheating is defined as (a) copying from another Academic Exercise using unauthorized materials, equipment, or assistance; or (c) failing to comply with a condition of academic integrity which has been defined or communicated in a particular course. Cheating prevents students from attaining the most important goals of higher education: learning and critical thinking.  By cheating to gain answers or a higher grade, students fail to obtain the critical thinking skills necessary to learn future lessons.  In addition, they put into practice a habit that will ultimately disadvantage themselves by allowing them to take shortcuts.

More practically, cheating breaks down the trust that exists between teachers and students.  Professors who have been impacted by cheating often report the additional effort they must go through to root out unethical behavior and that cheating behavior affects their willingness to form close bonds with students.

Also, cheating affects other students whose grades in the class are often impacted by the unfair advantage a single student has achieved.  Contrary to popular opinion, students care deeply about and look negatively upon cheating behavior.

A few important points to consider when reviewing these definitions in the Code include:

  • When students submit an assignment to the professor, the student is assuring that the work is the result of the student’s own thoughts and study, produced without assistance, and stated in that student’s own words, except when quotation marks, references, or footnotes acknowledge the use of other sources.
  • In most cases, whether a student acted intentionally or “meant” to cheat is not relevant when deciding if the student is responsible for the allegation.
  • If a Student is in doubt regarding any matter relating to what resources are authorized for them to use on an academic exercise, the Student should consult with the Instructor responsible for the course before assuming the resource is allowed.

Falsifying

Falsifying is the deliberate submission of altered, fabricated, or false information or materials to gain an unfair advantage, to subvert academic requirements, or to dishonestly alter the Student’s academic record.

Falsifying is defined in the Code as (a) Submitting, as part of an academic exercise, data or other information which has been altered or fabricated in such a way as to be misleading; (b) Providing false information to the University in any manner to achieve an unfair advantage, enhance one’s record, or complete a requirement; or (c) attempting to influence or change an academic evaluation, grade, or record by unfair means.

  • Common examples include students providing false excuses when requesting an extension on an assignment or changing their answers before asking the instructor to regrade their assignment.
  • Similar to cheating, lying breaks down the trust that exists between teachers and students. Professors who have been impacted by falsifying often report the additional effort they must go through to root out unethical behavior and that misleading behavior affects their willingness to form close bonds with students.

Misuse of Academic Materials:

Misuse of academic materials is defined under the Code as either (a)  Buying, selling, removing, or receiving any information for use in an academic exercise when such has not been authorized by the instructor; (b)  Sharing or distributing academic materials, including class notes, in violation of the UNC Policy Manual 500.2 – Patent and Copyright Policies or NCSU REG01.25.02 – Copyright Infringement – Policy Statement; or (c) Intentionally damaging, removing, stealing, or making inaccessible the academic work or efforts of another.

  • The misuse of academic materials erodes the value of scholarly ideas and the work of others.  Preserve the educational opportunities academic exercises are designed to foster for the intended audience. 
  • Most common examples of misuse of academic materials are students distributing academic materials to other students or on third-party online platforms like Chegg and CourseHero.

Plagiarism:

Plagiarism is defined under the Code of Student Conduct as either (a) representing the work of others as their own; (b) submitting written materials without proper attribution or acknowledgment of the source; or (c) submitting an Academic Exercise that is the same or substantially similar to one’s own previously submitted work(s) without authorization of the instructor.

The free exchange of ideas depends on the participants’ trust that they will be given credit for their work. Everyone in an academic community must be responsible for acknowledging when they have used others’ words and ideas. Since the intellectual work of others constitutes a kind of property, plagiarism is like theft.

In addition, as a reader, you may want to follow other writers’ paths of research in order to make your own judgments about their evidence and arguments. In doing so, you will depend on those writers’ accuracy and honesty in reporting their sources. In turn, your readers will depend on yours.  This is frequently the case with professors as they grade and provide feedback to students on papers written.  Faculty are more easily able to evaluate and assess the arguments contained in a paper if they are provided an honest and thorough “road map” for where the ideas came from.

When reviewing the definitions of plagiarism in the Code, it is important to consider the following:

  • Not only does plagiarism include borrowing someone else’s direct language, but plagiarism can also include using others ideas, thoughts, or actions and representing them in a way that leads others to believe they are your own.  An example includes reading someone else’s interpretation of a poem and incorporating it into a paper you are writing about the poem, but without acknowledging where you got the idea.  In order to avoid plagiarism, you must acknowledge where that specific idea came from (ideally using the style manual required by your instructor – MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.)
  • Whether a student acted intentionally or “meant” to plagiarize is not a relevant factor that is considered when deciding if the student is actually responsible for this allegation.

Unauthorized Assistance or Collaboration:

Unauthorized Assistance or Collaboration is defined as (a) working with another or others in completing an academic exercise when the instructor has required independent work; (b) providing assistance to another person in the completion of an academic exercise when such assistance is not authorized by the instructor; or (c) permitting another individual to substitute for one’s self or to represent another in an academic exercise, course, or graduation requirement. 

  • The most common violations include providing portions of an academic exercise to another student or working on an assignment together. 
  • Instructors design academic exercises to foster learning and growth. It should be assumed that academic exercises should be completed independently unless specifically permitted otherwise. As with cheating, a student should always consult with the professor prior to assisting another student. In addition, students should never make assumptions about the appropriateness of assisting others. Students should take preventative measures to protect their hard work and minimize the ability of others to gain access to their academic materials. In most cases, whether a student acted intentionally or “meant” to collaborate or assist is not relevant when deciding if the student is responsible for the allegation.